Traditional healers waiting for Covid-19 remedy green light
A group of traditional healers has been waiting for three months for a response from the Sefako Makgatho University (SMU) of Health Sciences on their Covid-19 remedy.
The group is waiting for the university to give the remedy the green light.
M5 Medi group says they’ve had to wait for over 90 days for SMU to release the preliminary findings for their herbal remedy.
“We were requested to wait for Sefako Makgatho to consult with its own statutory body before they can revert to us, as the statement has stated is that it has now been three months we have been waiting,” says attorney Molatelo Mahapa.
“Initially we were consistently in communication and we knew all the steps and processes and time frames. As we speak three months has passed and we are still in the dark. And that is where our outcry is and we don’t understand what is happening. Given the urgency of this project and what is happening in the country.”
In 2020, the M5 group approached SMU to have its herbal remedy tested for safety and efficacy, in hope that the medicine would be used as an alternative treatment for the deadly coronavirus.
However no feedback has been given to them.
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“Of great concern to us, is the impact of the delay in the registering of the herbal product with the country’s health regulatory bodies,” says spokesperson Mogale Mogale.
“We have made a commitment to the public to share the findings of the preliminary report as soon as they are available. More and more people have been taking the medicine since the first wave and have testified to its effectiveness as a remedy for the disease.
“On the other hand the country continues to lose more lives from the deadly virus. We feel that further delays in announcing the results are not helping in the fight against the scourge.”
In a statement, SMU says work on testing the product has only just begun.
Spokesperson Eric Pule says testing has not yet proven the efficacy and safety of the herbal product.
“We have started work to test the herbal product and have not reached the stage or seen the results that can provide efficacy and safety on the M5 Medigroup herbal product.
“SMU will continue to work with M5 Medigroup in promoting indigenous knowledge systems using best practices."
#CovidRemedy M5 spokesperson Mogale Mogale says the group has had nothing but positive feedback from their clients for their Covid-19 remedy. pic.twitter.com/tCsM7VfvTp
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) July 22, 2021
